Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Wood slices

One of my absolute favorite parrot toys is the simple slice of untreated pine. I'll sometimes drill holes in them and hang them on wire, but my parrots are equally happy to hold them in their feet and chip away.Destroying and chipping are so important for parrots. Lately at the rescue, I have seen a large number of parrots (mostly macaws) come in with overgrown beaks, mostly a result of poor diet and nothing to chew!
I understand that toys can get expensive, but this is one of the cheapest toys ever, as long as you have (or know someone who has) a saw. Around me, I can get an untreated pine 2X4 for less than $3. Sliced up, that can provide anywhere from weeks to months of chewing opportunities (depending on how voracious your birds are!)

Each bird has a basket of these in their cage (cut thinner for the caiques and thicker for the greys and macaw). We also keep baskets of them around the house on the floor, so if someone gets in a chewing mood, they'll go for the appropriate chewing material.

1 comment:

P said...

How much do your birds weigh? Harley (TAG) is on the small size, I guess, at 300 grams (10 ounces). But he's also very dainty. I can't imagine he'd chip up even a thin slice of pine. Balsa wood is more his style! Although, actually, cardboard from a cereal box is his favorite.